ANTHOLOGY INTRODUCTION: When I set out to create Fading Light, I had a specific vision in mind…that was until I was assailed by the slew of great submissions. There were so many amazing stories, so different than what I had expected, they threw a wrench into all my machinations and forced an evolution on Fading Light I hadn’t foreseen. In the end, it was the authors who defined the direction as much as the anthology prompt. As such, I feel it is they who should introduce themselves and the beast that is Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous.

Take a moment to get to know them in part four (part 2 0f 2) of the multi-blog interview…

Tim Marquitz,

El Paso, TX

August 27, 2012

Fading Light collects 30 monstrous stories by authors new and experienced, in the genres of horror, science fiction, and fantasy, each bringing their own interpretation of what lurks in the dark.

Q] When you first imagine a story, do the characters come first or the plot? Is it always the same?

Gene O’Neill: I need a character, a name, a situation, and a title before I begin.

Adam Millard: Plot comes first. Sometimes, a character won't appear until halfway through. If it's a book about one or two people, then maybe the characters come at the same time as the plot.

Peter Welmerink: Characters usually. Then the poor bastards get put through some sort of ringer of my dastardly design.

Q] Do you work in any other creative mediums besides writing? What are they?

CM Saunders: I just write, but I write many about things. Dark fiction, book and film reviews, non-fiction articles about travel and music or the unexplained.

Jake Elliot: Drinking!!! Hmmm, no. I’m a clumsy half-tard for the most part. It is why my wife knows karate and I let her kick all the asses. (Not true, I can act and tried my hand in Hollywood about 22-years ago and wasn’t too bad, but I decided I really hate cameras. Being a published novelist should prove my shortcoming isn’t a lack of ambition.)

DL Seymour: Other than writing I have also dabbled in video editing creating various music videos using footage from Anime series but this is just an amateur creative outlet of mine that I haven't done in years.

Q] How much of a role do reader/publisher expectations play in your writing?

Carl Barker: None at all. I write for me, not them. If other people enjoy reading my fiction, then that’s great, but if nobody ever read my work, it wouldn’t stop me writing.

Gef Fox: Reader/publisher expectations don't come into play until I'm on my second or third draft, when I am tightening the screws and hacking off all the ugly bits. The story itself is meant for me.

Q] Any tidbits of advice you can give aspiring authors?

Mark Lawrence: Better to be an aspiring writer than an aspiring author. If you don't love writing, stop. If you do love writing then even if you're never published anywhere your time will not have been wasted.

Ed Erdelac: Don’t just talk about writing. Turn off the TV, stay off the internet, don’t go out to a bar after work. Go home and do it. Set aside two hours a day and don’t allow for distractions. For me, that includes writing in public. I see people with laptops in coffee shops and all that. I don’t get how those people get anything done. Too many distractions. But then again, I hate coffee. Subject wise, don’t write what you think people might like and don’t worry about ‘write what you know.’ Write what you know you love. If you practice it, what you know will come through in what you love.

Ryan Lawler: Writing is a skill, just like playing a piano or riding a bike. You need to start at the basics, you need to learn from those who have come before you, and you need to practice hard if you want to take things to the next level.
Be a sponge. Learn as much as you can from as many sources as possible. Use criticism as a means to learn from your mistakes.

Q] How has the current publishing atmosphere affected you and how you approach your work?

TSP Sweeney: I love the fact that the short story has really made an incredible comeback as a viable option as a writer. I also love that the internet has really opened up publishing to a much larger group of people. Combine those two things together, and you have a world where you can write the story that you want to write in the format that you want to write it and still be able to find a home for it somewhere.

Writing a novel is something many aspire to, but it is a high barrier of entry for many people. Shorter works allow you to build a portfolio and gain confidence in your own abilities as a storyteller, which I think benefits authors, publishers, and readers equally. I know I would never have had the confidence to put serious effort into writing a book if I hadn’t first had such a positive reaction to the shorts I have written over the years.

Q] Did you a) write for the anthology or b) have a suitable piece ready - & if a) how'd you resist quoting Dylan Thomas? (per Mark Lawrence)

TSP Sweeney: Some combination thereof. I took a semi-formed idea I had had for a different story entirely and used it as the basis of my story for the anthology, so the finished piece bore almost no resemblance at all in the end.

Gef Fox: I fall into the "A" category. I just thought about a world fading to black and then Lester, that lowlife from Jonesborough, stepped into the spotlight. We were off and running after that.

Tim Baker: The story in Fading Light I wrote specifically to its theme and for Tim Marquitz. It was great fun and helped me focus. And as for the last part of the question: It was easy to resist because I have no idea what you’re talking about. I tried to do a quick Google search so I would sound all informed and shit, but no luck. So, I got nothin’.

DL Seymour: I wrote for the anthology, and I tried to keep other authors works, other than Lovecraft's of course, out of my mind. I really didn't give Thomas' poems a second thought.

Q] To steal a question from my friend, Bastard, what’s your favorite alcoholic beverage? Do you imbibe when you write?

Nick Cato: I am beyond dedicated to Amstel Light. It’s a light beer that tastes like a regular beer. I have at least one a day, more if my writing sessions go on longer than expected.

Tim Baker: A beer and a shot of Jack. And no.

Q] What books have you read recently? Any new authors you’re impressed by?

Tom Olbert: I’m currently reading Patricia Esposito’s “Beside the Darker Shore” – I’m impressed by Patricia; she has a brilliant, beautiful talent for atmosphere that reminds me somewhat of Bradbury. I’m also reading and enjoying “Halo of the Damned” by Dina Tosto. Dina has a talent for presenting intricate plots and bizarre mythology with a flair for dark humor and suspense, reminiscent of Joss Whedon.

Adam Millard: I've read too many to name, but authors that have impressed me recently are Craig Saunders, Joseph D'Lacey and John L. Probert. Great stuff coming from these guys now and in the future.

DL Seymour: Well, I did recently read Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter and thought that it was an inventive take on the old Let's go Hunt Us some Vampire genres. Though I don't think it is on the line of Bram Stoker, it was inventive and entertaining and Graham is an author I will be keeping an eye on.

Q] Stylistically, what genre is most satisfying to write? Are you married to a genre or do you write across different ones? Is there a specific genre you want to write in but haven’t?

Ed Erdelac: Well I keep going back to the weird west for whatever reason. I write most comfortably in that, and all my novels so far have been westerns. Love the history. Love learning as I write. But I do write across the board, I think, short story-wise. Theophany is in modern day, and I’ve written about pirates, 18th century slavers, feudal Japan, and the modern day inner city. I wanna try to write a wuxia novel, but I wonder if anybody would read it.

Tom Olbert: It all depends on what story you need to get across. Science fiction is more of a philosophical or speculative vehicle, I find. Supernatural horror can be a good cathartic device for revenge stories. Both can be satisfying, if you get what you’re going after. I’m thinking I might like to try my hand at a swashbuckling, dramatic/romantic period-piece. Eighteenth or nineteenth century, maybe.

Q] You’re drunk at a karaoke bar: what one song will get you up and wailing?

Dorian Dawes:Sweet Transvestite from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Gef Fox: Probably that old Garth Brooks song, "Friends in Low Places." I can't help it. Play that at a kitchen party around midnight and we're all going to singing along to that one.

DL Seymour: I think I referred to several of them in your question about my favorite drink, but also anything by Queen, the Beatles, or the Eagles. It's always fun trying to sing Hotel California while Waistin Away Again in Margaritaville. (Yes, that's the other song I was referring to. As I said, way too young.)

Dorian Dawes: I have a website with links to my currently published work and a series of rants that are the result of my existence on this terrifying thing called the internet, check it out for all the latest updates.

Jake Elliot: I’d recommend Jake Elliot Fiction to start. I’m on Facebook and I’ll friend everybody until I’m offered naked pictures. Remember, my wife can kick my ass and she might get upset if I’m looking at your naked pics. I’m on Goodreads too, and there, you can read the fist 15% of ‘The Wrong Way Down’ for free.

Ryan Lawler: You can follow me on Twitter – @RyanL1986 – or you can check out my blog.

Tim Baker: They can check me out on Facebook. Will soon have a blog up and running, too.

TSP Sweeney: My personal, all-too-infrequently updated blog and it contains links to the various stories I have thrown up around the web, as well as details about my upcoming published works. I can also be tracked down on Twitter @TSPSweeney.

DL Seymour: If people are interested finding out more about me, they can visit my website.

*************************End of Part two****************************

EDITOR INFORMATION: Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squadseries, and the Sepulchral Earth serial stories. He is also an editor, a heavy metal aficionado, a Mixed Martial Arts fan, and is also a member of the Live Action Role Playing organization. When he’s not busy writing dark stories which catch his imagination he also manages to go about his day job. Tim lives in El Paso, Texas with his wonderful family.